Rotary tooth cleaner



Aug., l2, 1941. F. B. COOPER ROTARY TOOTH CLEANER Filed sept. 9. 1938 F3. 6090er.

Patented Aug. 12, 1941 ROTARY TOOTH CLEANER Frederick Bremner Cooper, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.

. Application September 9, 1938, Serial No. 229,198

(Cl. i4-89) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in rotary tooth cleaners and a principal object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which may be manually operated and which will remove stains and lm from all surfaces of the teeth more thoroughly than the cleaning devices as at present employed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which will effectively clean under the free margin of the gums without irritation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the rotary cleaning motion imparts a high lustre to the tooth surface, and in generally enabling the teeth to be cleaned more thoroughly and without irritation to the gums, will greatly reduce the possibilities of dental decay and mouth diseases.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewthin described which is economical to manufacture, is of simple, sanitary construction, and which will not easily become out of order.

With the above more important objects in view and such other minor objects as may appear as the specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

In the drawing like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diierent gures.

Essentially, my invention comprises a casing I, to one end of which is threadably attached a conventional dental angle 2, and to the other end of which is similarly attached a guide sleeve 3, in which is mounted a plunger operated rotating mechanism 4, consisting of the hollow rod 5, the walls at the lower end of which are provided with a pair of spiral slots 6 formed therein Eand. being in parallel relationship but 180 out of phase. A shaft 1 extending inwardly from the transmission system 2' in the dental angle 2, is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed pitched lugs 8 secured upon its end and engageable in the slots 6. A tooth cleaner cup 9 of the conguration clearly illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing, is secured upon the projecting end of the tool shaft IU. Obviously, by pushing the rod 5 back and forth in the guide sleeve 3, the endwise movement of the spiral slots 6 over the pitched lugs 8 imparts a similar rotation to the shaft 1 and consequently the cleaning cup 9.

The structure and relationship of the various components of my invention will now be described in greater detail.

The body of my invention consists of an openended cylindrical casing I, over one end of which is threadably mounted the enlarged, flanged, inner end I I of the guide sleeve 3.

My plunger operated rotating mechanism 4, consists of a pair of spiral slots 6 formed in the walls of the inner end 4 of the hollow rod 5, said spiral slots being in parallel relationship but out of phase. The rod 5 is slidably mounted in the guide sleeve 3 and is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed slots I2 formed longitudinally in the mid-portion thereof. A pin I3, secured centrally within the guide sleeve 3 adjacent the inner end thereof, passes through the slots I2 and serves as a stop for the coil spring I4, positioned within the rod 5 and bearing between said pin and the outer end of said rod, on which is secured the thumbpiece I5. In order to maintain the portion 4 of the rod 5 equispaced from the sides of the casing I as it is plunged up and down therewithin, a stabilizer I6 is provided and consists of a circular washer I6 secured upon the rod 5 by the pin Il. A ingerpiece I8 consisting of a pair of upstanding lugs I9 formed integrally upon a circular ring I8, mounted overthe casing I and bearing against the edge of the enlarged end Il of the guide sleeve 3 facilitates the plunging of the rod 5 up and down within the sleeve 3 and casing I.

Upon the other end of the casing I is threadably mounted the hanged end of` the dental angle housing 2, within which is rotatably mounted the transmission linkage system 2. This transmission system consists of a pair of outwardly projecting crown gears 20, 20', secured upon opposite ends of the shaft 2l and rotatably mounted Within the center por-tion of the dental angle housing 2.

Perpendicularly disposed to the axis of the shaft 2l, is a spindle 22, rotatably mounted in the head 2" of the dental angle 2, and having formed integrally thereupon a crown gear 23, engageable with the crown gear ZIJ', a tool shaft I0, provided with the enlarged circular head I0 r upon the lower end With an annular recess 24 about its upper end, is keyed within the spindle 22.

A locking member 25, consisting of a strip of metal 25, pivotally mounted upon the bolt 26 and positioned within a slot 2l, formed in the head 2" of the dental angle 2, is provided with a notch 2li' formed upon the forward edge thereof and engageable with the annular recess 24 in the shaft I0, whereby said shaft is held in position when in use.

My tooth cleaning member 9, consists essentially of a soft rubber cup 9, having a conical interior 9 surfaced with suitable cleaning projections, and being formed more solidly at the upper end thereof into a ring like grip 9", in which is received the head l0 of the tool shaft Within the inner end wall 28, of the dental angle housing 2, is threadably secured a bearing 29, through which extends the shaft 1, upon the outer end of which is secured the crown gear 3S, engageable with the crown gear 2U. A collar 3l is secured upon the shaft l adjacent the bearing 29 for the purpose of bearing any endwise thrust upon said shaft.

Upon the inner end of the shaft l is secured the pair of diametrically opposed lugs 8, which are disposed at a pitch equivalent to that of the spiral slots 6, in which they are slidably receivable.

The operation of the structure described in the foregoing paragraphs will now be explained, and will be seen to consist in the gripping of the device within the thumb and forenger upon the members designated for that purpose, and pressing the rod 5 downwardly into the casing l. During this operation, as the pin I3 prevents the rod 5 from rotating, the spiral slots 5 move endwise over the pitched lugs 8, thereby forcing said lugs and the shaft 'I to rotate in one direction until the limit of the downward movement of the rod 5 is reached. The spring Il! will then return the rod to its original position, and in so doing, the shaft 'I will be rotated in the opposite direction. The motion of the shaft I is carried to the cleaning cup 9, which of course is placed against the various surfaces of the teeth while the back and forth rotation is being applied. In rotation the soft lower edge of this cup gives a non-irritating cleaning and wiping action, and may be safely employed to clean under the free margin of the gums.

In this manner, I have provided a mechanically simple and hand operated rotary tooth cleaner, the use of which, in enabling the teeth to be cleaned more thoroughly, yet safely, than at present attained by conventional tooth brushes, etc., will add greatly to dental health.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same, made within the scope -of the claims without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specifically expressed in the accompanying claim.

What I claim as my invention ls:

In a rotary tooth cleaner, a cylindrical casing provided with a diametrically opposed fingerpiece, an extension in end alignment with said casing in the form of a hollow, open-ended, sleeve, a hollow longitudinally slotted rod eX- tending through said sleeve normally projecting partially therefrom a coil spring therewithin, one end of said coil spring bearing against one end of said rod, a thumbpiece on the end of said rod, a keeper extending diametrically through the longitudinal slot in said rod and through said sleeve, the opposite end of said spring bearing against said keeper, said rod being also spirally slotted at the forward end thereof, a shaft extending through said casing, a cross key at one end of said shaft engageable with said spiral slot, a centering washer secured around said rod and slidable within said casing, manual pressure upon said rod causing the same to endshift within said casing and sleeve to effect rotation of said shaft.

FREDERICK BREMNER COOPER. 

